BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS

State education chief pushes 'gay' pornfest

Board member calls comments an 'in your face' problem

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.

California Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, under whose supervision hundreds of thousands of children are being educated, has used his state position and taxpayer-funded stationery to praise a “gay” pride event that has been used in the past to expose children to sexually explicit activities.

“As a school board member who cares about academics and the success of all students, I want to know how Mr. O’Connell’s letter has anything to do with public education and instruction,” said Priscilla Schreiber, the president of the Grossmont Unified High School District governing board.

“I am outraged that a person in this high-ranking elected position would advocate an event where diversity is not just being celebrated, but where pornography and indecent exposure is being perpetrated on the young and innocent children of our communities,” she said.

O’Connell’s letter to Mike Karim, of the San Diego LGBT Pride, notes that it is “with great pleasure that I offer my support for the 2007 celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Awareness Festival. I am truly honored to recognize an endeavor that promotes equality and respect in our communities.”

He added thanks for the group’s “efforts to celebrate diversity and a sense of humanity among individuals while encouraging them to value each other’s rights and privileges as members of society.”

James Hartline, who publishes the James Hartline Report that monitors homosexual activists in the region, said the letter is “insidious.”

“O’Connell is the head guy for the public schools. Gay pride has absolutely nothing to do with his job, yet he used his state letterhead to issue an endorsement,” he told WND.

He said the “gay” pride event in question features sadomasochism, triple-X rated pornography and nearly nude men.

“He’s saying this is great for the community. But he’s the one responsible for setting down policy for elementary school children,” Hartline told WND.

“Charged with the responsibility to be the chief spokesman for California’s public schools, O’Connell plays one of the most significant roles in the lives of millions of small children in America’s most populated state,” Hartline continued. “Using public funds to send out a letter to endorse an event that features XXX pornography, an explicit S&M leather sex venue, and the distribution of condoms and lubricants used in anal intercourse, demonstrates that Superintendent O’Connell should now be considered one of the most dangerous men in all of California.”

Hartline noted the San Diego “Gay” Pride event already has experienced a number of controversies. In 2005, it was learned the group had hired sex offenders to work with various events, including a registered pedophile who was working in the event’s “Children’s Garden.”

Then in 2006, numerous small children were marched in the parade under the banner of a local charter school.

“O’Connor’s letter includes a shocking display of disrespect for families who are doing everything possible to protect their children from child molesters, the pornography industry, and sexually transmitted diseases,” Hartline said.

O’Connell is not the first school administrator, however, to try to use his school position to encourage homosexual activity. As WND has reported, officials in Boulder, Colo., held a seminar for students where they were told to “have sex,” including same-sex experiences, and “take drugs.”

WND also has reported on earlier assemblies that have been used by schools to promote homosexuality, including one where parents were banned from the event, and a second where WND reported school officials ordered their 14-year-old freshman class into a “gay” indoctrination seminar after having them sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their parents.